Door lock



J. H. ROETHEL noon LOCK Jam. 3, 1951 Filed March 8, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet1 INVENTOR.

sew gu g Jam :4: 1951 J. H. ROETHEL. 2,538,913

" DOOR LOCK 5119a max-ch a, 1949 s Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. $$fi f7!Fae- Zed J. H. hoETHEL.

DOOR LOCK Filed March 8. 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR. J5) Kati/fezPatented Jan. 23, 1951 DOOR LOCK John H. Roethel, Detroit, Mich.,assignor to Roethel Engineering Corporation,

Detroit,

Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application March 8, 1949, Serial No.80,279

3 Claims. (Cl. 292-280) Thi invention relates to latch mechanism forswinging doors, particularly the doors of automobile or other vehiclebodies, an object of the invention being to provide an improved doorlatch mechanism which is not only relatively small in size, simple,compact and economical to manufacture, but also durable and efiicient aswell as comparatively quiet in operation.

Another object of the invention i to provide an improved door latchmechanism embodying a full rotatable latch device together with a fullyrotatable detent engaging member by which the latch devic is positivelyheld through the medium of a detent or the like in any position to whichit may be rotated. More specifically an object is to form the latchdevice as a toothed member which, when the detent is disengaged, isunrestrained against rotation in any direction, yet which will rotateinto locking relation to its striker regardless of the position to whichthe latch device is turned.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved door lockespecially adaptable for use on the doors of automobile bodies, the lockbeing provided with detent means for holding a rotatable bolt in doorlocking position and also being provided with improved means under thecontrol of outside and inside manually controlled operators forreleasing or disengaging the detent means, and in addition havingimproved means for rendering the outside operator ineffective to releaseor disengage the detent means.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following descriptionand appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsforming a part of this specification wherein like reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts in the several views.

Fig. 1. is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken substantially throughlines ll of Fig. 3

and showing in particular the mechanism of the door lock mountedadjacent the inner door panel.

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially through lines 22 of Fig. 1looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially through lines 33 of Fig. 1looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the latch device illustrating the parts thereofcarried by the case plate.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation taken from the right in Fig. 3 inthe direction of the arrow numbered 5.

Fig. 6 is a section taken substantially through lines 6--B of Fig. 3looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6A is a view generally similar to Fig. 6 but illustrating amodification.

Fig. 7 is a section taken substantially through lines 1-! of Fig. 1looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 8 is a section taken substantially through lines 8-8 of Fig. 5looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 9 is a section taken substantially through lines 9-9 of Fig. 2looking in the direction of the arrows. I

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view, in part similar to Fig. 1, illustratingan operated position of the remote control mechanism.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary side elevation illustrating a modification ofthe remote control mechanism.

Fig. 12 is a section taken substantially through lines l2l2 of Fig. 11looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 13 is a section taken substantially through lines 13-43 of Fig. 12looking in the direction of the arrows.

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to be understoodthat the invention is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and ofbeing practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to beunderstood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is forthe purpose of description and not of limitation.

The latch device constructed in accordance with the particularembodiment of the invention herein illustrated, by way of example, isshown mounted on an automobile door having the usual inner door panel 2|terminating in a transverse jamb edge 22 facing the fixed jamb face oredge 23 (Fig. 5) of the door frame post or body pillar.

The present latch device comprises a case plate 24 provided with screwbosses 2411 by means of which the case plate is secured to the innerside of the jamb portion 22 of the door. The case plate terminates atits inner edge in a flange 25 facing the inner door panel 2|. The latchdevice is preferably provided with arotatable toothed latch or bolt 26positioned at the outer face of the case plate 24, this latch or bolthaving an integral projecting shaft or shank 21 extending through anaperture in the case plate and having a bearing in the annular flangededge 28 of this aperture. The inner end of the shank 21 of the bolt isflattened and extended through a correspondingly shaped aperture in arotatable toothed detent engaging member or ratchet member 29. Theratchet member 29 in the present instance is molded from nylon plasticmaterial and is formed, as shown in Fig. 6, with an integral bushingportion 29a interposed between the shank 21 of the bolt and the flangededge 28 of the aperture in the case plate 24, thus providing a bearingfor the ratchet member 29 and bolt 26. The reduced end of the bolt shank21 is riveted over a washer 30 against the inner face of the ratchetmember 29. As a result of this construction the bolt 26 and ratchetmember are rigidly attached together so as to turn in unison. By virtueof the bushing 29a formed from nylon plastic as an integral part of theratchet member 29, a highly wear resistant bearing for the bolt isprovided in the case plate 24 which requires no lubrication.

The rotatable latch 26, as shown in Fig. 8, is formed with a number ofradially projecting tooth-like projections 26a, such as six, which arespaced equally around the periphery of the latch so as to provide ineffect a gear type latch. The ratchet member 29 is also formed aroundits periphery with a number of tooth-like abutments or projections 29bwhich correspond in number to the tooth-like projections 25a of thebolt.

Pivotally mounted on a shoulder rivet 32 secured to the case plate 24 isa swinging detent, pawl or dog which has a downwardly extending detentarm 33 cooperable with the teeth or projections 29b of the ratchetmember 29. The detent arm is engageable with any one of the teeth 29b inthe manner shown in Fig. 3 to hold the ratchet member and, hence, thebolt 26 in locking position against rotation in a counterclockwisedirection as viewed in Fig. 3. The detent, in the embodiment of Fig. 3,is also formed with an inwardly extending arm 34 adapted to engage arubber bumper 34a so as to silence impact of the detent arm 33 againstthe sides of the teeth 2% when the ratchet member 29 is rotated in aclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3, during closing of the door.The bumper 34a is arranged so as to be engaged by the detent arm 34slightly before the detent arm 33 goes fully home and to yieldsuificiently to permit full engagement of the detent arm 33 with a toothof the ratchet member 29, as shown in Fig. 3.

The detent is also provided with an upwardly projecting arm or extension35 and also an inwardly extending armor extension 36. Thus, the detentin the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 is provided with four arms 33,34, 35and 36 and is preferably formed from a single piece of flat metal stock.

Associated with the detent is a detent actuating or release lever 37which is pivoted at its lower end upon a shoulder rivet 38 secured tothe case plate. Pivoted at 39 to the side of the lever 31 near the upperend thereof is a detent operating link 40, this link in the presentinstance extending inwardly from the lever 31 and having an extension40a overlying and normally slidingly engageable with the upper end ofthe detent arm 35, the link 40 thus being mounted so as to swingvertically toward and from the detent arm 35. The link 40 is formed atits lower edge with an abutment or shoulder 40b adapted to engage theupper end of the detent arm 35 when the link 40 is shifted inwardly byswinging the lever 31 inwardly.

The detent arm 33 is yieldingly urged toward the ratchet plate 23 bymeans of a coil spring 4| anchored to a stud 4Ia secured to the caseplate, this spring having a downwardly projecting arm 4Ib engageablewith the edge of the detent arm 33 so as to yieldingly hold the arm inlatching engagement with a tooth of the ratchet plate 29. The lever 31is urged outwardly toward its normal position shown in Fig. 3 by meansof a coil spring 42 anchored to the shoulder rivet 38 and having anupward extension 42a engaging behind the flange 31a on the lever 31.This lever is provided with a flange portion 37b which overlaps thespring arm 4| b and prevents it from becoming disengaged from the detentarm 33. The flange portion 31a on this lever is widened for engagementby a plunger 43 which may be shifted inwardly to swing the lever 3! byany suitable manually operable means on the outside of the door such,for example, as a push button or a pull out type handle.

The present latch device is preferably operated from the inside of thedoor through the medium of a remote control mechanism comprising alongitudinally shiftable draft link 44 which is pivoted at 45 to thelower end of one arm 46a of a bell crank lever 46. This lever is pivotedon the shank of a shoulder rivet 41, Figs. 1 and 7, secured to the caseplate flange 25. The lever is provided with a projecting arm 45boverlying at its outer end the detent arm 36.

In accordance with the present embodiments of the invention means isprovided for disconnecting the operating link 40 and release lever 31from the detent arm 35 and also for effecting the operative connectionof these parts, this being accomplished through the medium of a manuallyoperable slide which may be shifted either by manually operable means atthe inside of the door or by a key operating lock from the outside ofthe door. This slide, designated at 49, is embossed at its upper end toprovide an outwardly extending channel shaped projection 43 notched at48a to receive the inner end of the extension 40a of the link 40. Thelower edge of the channel shaped projection 48 overlies the lever arm46b and the latter in turn overlies the detent arm 36, see Figs. 1 and3. Since the extension 40a of the operating link 40 projects within thenotch 48a in the vertically shiftable slide 49, an interlockingconnection is thus provided between the link extension 4011 and theslide so that upward movement of the slide will raise the link 40 todisengage it from the detent arm 35 and reverse movement of the slidewill position the link 40 with its abutment 40b in operative relation tothe upper end of the detent arm. The slide 49 is guided on the caseplate flange 25 by means of upper and lower headed guide studs 50 and 5|extending through vertical guide slots 52 and 53 in the slide.

The slide 49 may be shifted upwardly to the dotted line position shownin Fig. 1 and downwardly to its full line position by means of a lever54 pivotally mounted on the shank of the shoulder rivet 41. This leverhas a projecting arm 54a terminating in a round end 541; lying withinthe channel shaped projection 48 on the slide 49. The lever 54 also hasa lever arm 54c pivotally connected at 55 to a vertically shiftable rodor plunger 56 which extends upwardly through the garnish molding at theinner side of the glass panel of the door. This rod carries at its upperend a knob 51 which may be grasped at the inside of the door to shiftthe plunger vertically in either direction.

From the foregoing construction it will be apacademparent that bypressing the knob 5'! downwardly the lever 54 will be rocked, therebyraising the slide 49, and conversely when the rod 56 is pulled upwardlythe slide 49 will be shifted downwardly. The slide is yieldingly heldand urged toward its upper and lower limits of movement by means of asnap-over spring 58 of suitable strength attached at one end to theslide and at the opposite end to the case plate flange 25. As shown inFig. 1, the slide 49 is notched or cut away at 59 to provide clearancefor the detent arm 36 which in the present embodiment is free to movevertically without engaging the lower edge oi. the notched portion 59 inany position 01' the slide. Projecting outwardly from the side edge ofthe notch 59 in the slide 49 is a flange or lug 60 which, when the slideis shifted upwardly, is

moved into position to underlie and substantially engage the lever arm4612, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Thus, with the slide in itsupperan aperture 6! to receive the end of the detent arm 36, and thecase plate flange is also provided with an aperture 62 to receive theextension 4011 of the operating link 40 when shifted inwardly.

Extending through a hole in the remote end of the draft link 44 is athreaded stud or pin 63, the link being locked in position on the studby means of a snap-on cotter pin 64 engaging in an annular groove 63a inthe stud 63. The inner door panel 2! is formed with an elongate aperture65 through which the stud 63 extends, and the inner end of this stud isanchored, a shown in Fig. 2, in a hole in the lower end of a hanger link66. The upper end of this link is pivoted on the shank of a shoulderrivet 61 secured to a mounting plate 68. This plate is adjustablyattached to the inner door panel 2| through the shifted to the rightwithin the slot 11 m the escutcheon disk and the slot 66 in the innerdoor. panel. This will result in shifting the link 44 to the right,thereby rockin the .bell crank lever 46 and swinging the lever arm 46bupwardly and raising the slide 49 to its dotted line position in Fig. 1by engagement of the lever arm 46b with the bottom of the embossment 48in the slide. Upon'releasing the slide button 18, after performing theabove operation, the spring 72 will return the slide button and lever 46to their normal positions shown in Fig. l. Conversel'y uponshiitingtheslide button is to the left in Fig. 1 the lever 46 will berocked in the opposite direction, thereby depresdng the lever armband-causing it to swing the detent arm -36 downwardly to disengage thedetent 33 from 2a the ratchzt member 29, thus freeing the ratchet mediumof screws 69 extending through adjusting slots 19 in the mounting plateand to screw bosses 1| on the inner door panel. Since the stud 63 ismounted on the lower end of the swinging link 66 longitudinal movementof the stud will be in an arcuate path having its center at the axis ofrivet 67. This longitudinal movement of the stud 63 is yieldinglyresisted by means of a wire spring 12 which is bent to provide a pair ofdepending arms 12a which cross each other and engage at their lower endsopposite sides of the shank of the stud 63. The upper horizontal portionof the spring i2 is anchordbetween a retainer lug I3 lanced out of themetal of the plate 68 and the upper flanged edge 14a. of a retainerpiece 14 secured in spaced relation to the mounting plate 68 by means oftongues or tabs |4b' projectng through slits in the mounting plate andclinched over as shown in Fig. 1.

The inner door panel 2| -is covered in accordance with conventionalpractice by means of a fabric covered trim panel 75. Mounted against theinner face of the trim panel is an escutcheon disk 16 which is attachedin position by means of tabs 16a projecting through slots in the innerdoor panel and clinched over. The escutcheon dis; [6 is formed, as shownin Fig. 9, with an arcuate slot 11 through which the inner threaded end631) of the stud 63- projects. Threaded onto the inner end of the studis an annular slide button 18 which is preferably of sufficient size toenable it to be readily grasped by the hand so as to shift the button 18lore and aft, thereby member and bolt and permitting the door to bec-pen'd. In the event the slide 49 has been set in its upp-r positioneither by operation 01' the lever 46 or the lever 54, the slide will bereturned- 46 will swing the link 40 upwardly byvirtuc oi the connectionof the arm 40a of the link within the notch 43a in the channelembossment '48.o'i..

the slide. This operation will disconnect the'iinls' 49 from the detentarm 35 by raising the abut v ment 43b of the link above the upper end ofthe detent arm. When this occurs it will be apparcut that thereleasemember 37 may be pushed inwardly freely without disengaging the detenti'rom the ratchet member 29, since by this iiiward motion of the member31 the link 49 will be free to move inwardly relatively to the detentarm 35 without imparting any disengaging motion thereto. Even though theoutside release lever 31 maybe disconnected from the detent arm 35 byshifting the slide 49 upwardly, the.v

slide will be returned downwardly to its normal position to againconnect the release lever with the detent by operation of the insideremote control mechanism through the slide button 18 accompanied byactuation of the detent arm 35 to disengage the detent arm 33 from thetoothed member 29.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 11 to 13 inclusive the remotecontrol link 44 carries a transverse pin or stud l9 slidable within astraight slot in an escutcheon disk 8| which is other-- wise similar tothe disk." and mounted on the inner door panel in a correspondingmanner- The link 44 is anchored in position on the pin 19 by means of asnap-on cotter pin 82 extending through an annular groove in the pin 19.The slide button 18 is threaded onto the inner end of the pin '19 and isshiftable fore and aft on the escutcheon plate 8! so as to shift theremote control link 44 fore and aft to operate the bell crank lever 46in the manner above described. Extendin through a hole in the end of thelink 44 at a point spaced from the coupling pin 19 is a stud as which isriveted to the end of the link as shown in Fig. 12. This stud isslidable within a straight slot 84a in a mounting plate 84 adjustablysecured to the inner door panel by screws 85 threaded into screw bosses86 in the inner door panel 2|. Longitudinal movement of the stud 83 inone direction or the other is resisted by means of a wire spring 81having depending crossed arms 87a which engage at their lower endsopposite sides of the stud 83. The upper horizontal portion of thespring 81 is anchored in position between a lug 88 lanced out of themetal of the plate 84 and the upper flanged edge of a retainer piece 89secured to the mounting plate by clinched over tongues 83a. It will beapparent that by shifting the slide button 18 fore and aft upon theescutcheon disk 8| with the coupling pin 19 shiftable within the slot8.) in the escutcheon disk, the remote control link 44 will be shiftedin an endwise direction; and

tnis movement of the link will be resisted by the spring 81 which, uponreleasing the slide button l8, will return it as well as the remotecontrol 1111K. to normal position.

In the several embodiments of the invention the rotary toothed latch orbolt 26 is actuatedwhen the door is closed by means of a striker orkeeper device 90 which is rigidly mounted on the jamb edge 23 of thebody pillar or nxed upright member of the door frame. Where a steel bolt26 is used, as in the embodiment of Fig. 6, the striker member to ispreferably molded from nylon plastic material and is secured to the bodypillar b means of screws 9|. The nylon striker member 90 is formed atits lower edge with two integral tooth like projections 92 and 93 withwhich the teeth 26a. of the latch bolt mesh to hold the door in either afinal or safety locking position. When an adjacent pair of teeth 28aembrace and engage the tooth 92 the door is in safety locking position,and when an adjacent pair of teeth 26a engage and embrace the tooth 93of the striker member the bolt is in final looking position as shown inFig. 8. The upper surface 90a of the striker member forms an inclinedramp engaged by a dovetail shoe or guide block 94 rigidly secured to thecase plate and cooperable with the bolt by engagement with the strikermember 90 to hold the door against vertical movement in its fully closedposition. Where the striker member 90 is molded from nylon plastic, theguide block or shoe 94 is preferably formed of metal such as steel. Ihave discovered that by using a steel bolt and a steel wedge block orshoe 94 in conjunction with a nylon plastic striker member 90considerable reduction in frictional resistance as well as noise isachieved when the door is closed. Furthermore, this construction has theimportant advantage of eliminating any need for lubrication of thecontacting surfaces between the bolt 26, shoe 94 and striker member. Anadditional advantage derived from this construction resides in thepractical elimination of wear at the contacting surfaces of the bolt,shoe and striker member.

In the embodiment of Fig. 6A the bolt 85 having teeth 95a is similar tothe bolt 26 but in this instance is molded from nylon plastic. The outerface of the bolt is recessed at 91 to receive the head of a rivet 96which passes through a hole in the bolt and a steel washer 98 and isriveted over the washer. The bolt 95 has a round reduced shank portion95b forming a hearing within the flanged aperture 20 in the case plate.

The inner end 95c of the bolt is reduced and flattened to extend througha correspondingly shaped aperture in the ratchet member 29, thus keyingthe ratchet member to the bolt so as to turn in unison therewith. Wherethe bolt II is formed of nylon plastic, as in the embodiment of Fig, 6A,the striker member is preferably formed of steel, being otherwisesubstantially similar to the construction shown in Fig. 8. However.where the striker member 90 is formed of steel, the wedge block or shoe94, which slides upon the upper inclined surface 90a of the strikermember, is preferably molded from plastic material and rigidly securedto the case plate 24. The advantages of this construction are similar tothose above set forth in connection with the elimination of noise,frictional resistance, lubrication and wear on the parts. Thus, in theembodiment of Fig. 6A the bolt and wedge member 94 are of nylon plasticmaterial and the striker member 90 is of steel.

Where a key controlled device is incorporated with the door lock as inthe embodiment of Fig. l, the slide 49 is provided with a dependingextension 49a having spaced lugs 98 and IN pivotally receiving a roundedend I la of a swinging crank arm IOI. This arm is connected to thesquare portion Hi2 of a key actuated shaft, the shaft in turn beingconnected to the cylinder mechanism of any conventional lock having theusual key control. By turning the key in the lock on the outside of thedoor the crank arm IUI may be swung to shift the slide 49 vertically inone direction or the other, thereby to shift the detent operating link40 into or out of engaged relation to the detent arm 35. The key controlmeans for the slide 49 is usually embodied in the front door locks of anautomobile body but is usually omitted from the locks used on the reardoors.

I claim:

1. In a door latch mechanism for a swinging door, a support comprising aplate portion for disposition at the door jamb and having a flangeextending from the imier edge thereof, a rotatable latch device mountedon said plate portion, detent means pivotally mounted on said plateportion to swing about a. generally horizontal axis and including aunitary member having a plurality of arms, one arm extending downwardlyfrom said axis and engageable with said latch device for holding thesame in door latchin position. a second arm extending upwardl from saidaxis, and a third arm extending inwardly toward said flange, outermanually operable means for pivotally actuating said detent mean andincluding a lever pivotally mounted on said plate portion and having aportion movable toward said flange upon swinging said lever, link meanspivotally mounted on said lever portion and having a part normallyarranged in operative relation to a part of said second arm and beingshiftable upon swinging said lever to cause said parts to abut and shiftthe detent means thereby to disengage the detent means from said latchdevice, a vertically shiftable slide on said flange connected to saidlink means, lever means on said flange for shiftin said slide upwardlyto cause the same to pivotally move said link mean in a generallyvertical direction to position its said part out of operative relationto said part of said second arm and to position said slide in a raisedposition, a manually operable lever on said flange engageable with apart on said slide whenin said raised position for shifting the slidedownwardly and also at the same time ensascable with said third arm forpivotally actuating said detent means to disengage the same from saidlatch device, and a single pivot for pivotally supporting said levermeans and said manually operable lever on said flange.

2. In a door latch mechanism for a swinging door, a support comprising aplate portionior disposition at the door jamb and having a flangeextending from the inner edge thereof, a latch bolt mounted on saidplate portion to rotate about an axis and having a series of tooth-likeprojections extending around the periphery thereof, a detent engaginglatch device secured to said bolt to rotate therewith about said axisand having a corresponding series of tooth-like abutments, detent meanspivotally mounted on said plate portion and engageable with said latchdevice for holding the same in latching position, outer manuallyoperable means for pivotally actuating said detent means to disengagethe same from said latch device and including a lever pivotally mountedon said plate portion and having a portion movable toward said flan eupon swinging said lever, link mean pivotally mounted on said leverportion for operation thereby and havinga part normally arranged inoperative relation to a part of said detent means and being shiftableupon swinging said lever to cause said parts to abut and shift thedetent means thereby to disengage the detent means from said latchdevice. a vertically shiftable slide on said flange connected to saidlink means, an inner manually operable swingable lever for shifting saidslide in one direction to swing said link means into a position in whichsaid parts are out of operative relation, a second inner manuallyoperable swingable lever for shifting said slide in the oppositedirection, and a common pivot for supporting both of said inner manuallyoperable levers on said flange.

3. In a door latch mechanism for a swinging door, a support comprising aplate portion for disposition at the door jamb and having a flangeextending from the inner edge thereof, a latch bolt mounted on saidplate portion to rotate about an axis and having a series of tooth-likeprojections extending around the periphery thereof, a detent engaginglatch device secured to said bolt to rotate therewith about said axisand having a corresponding series of tooth-like abutments, detent meanspivotally mounted on said plate portion and engageable with said latchdevice for holding the same in latchin position, outer manually operablemeans for pivotally actuating said detent means to disengage the samefrom said latch device and including a lever pivotally mounted on saidplate portion and havin a portion movable toward said flange uponswinging said lever, link means pivotally mounted on said lever portionfor operation thereby and having a part normally arranged in operativerelation to a part of said detent means and being shiftable uponswinging said lever to cause said parts to abut and shift the detentmeans thereby to disengage the detent means from said latch device,control means engageable with said link means and movably mounted on thesupport for shifting said link means in one direction to position saidparts out of operative relation, said control means including a manuallyoperable swingable lever, a second manually operable swingable lever formoving said control means in the opposite direction, and a common pivotfor supporting both of said levers on said flange.

JOHN H. ROETHEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

